Most first trips to Thailand try to hold too much. This one holds two things. Three nights in the capital, while jet lag still wakes you before the traffic does and the temple courtyards are cool. Then three nights on the Andaman coast, once you have earned the right to sit still. One domestic flight joins them, and nothing else is moved on.
It reads well for couples, for two friends travelling together, and for families whose children are old enough to sit through a boat day. Guiding and transport are yours alone on land; the run out to the Phi Phi group goes by shared speedboat, because that is how those islands are reached. Each half of the route has its own guide who lives there. What you pay is quoted in writing once we know your dates and party size.
Day by day
Day 1
Arrival in Bangkok. Your guide waits past the customs hall with a name board, and a private car takes you into town. Allow an hour if you land in the late afternoon, half that at night. Check in, shower, and leave the sightseeing alone. If you have any appetite left, a short walk will find a street kitchen doing one dish very well. Overnight in Bangkok.
Day 2
After breakfast, the Grand Palace, then the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Go at opening time: the compound bakes by eleven and fills with tour groups shortly after. The Emerald Buddha is small, dark and high up, and its robes are changed by the king with the seasons, which your guide will explain better than a sign can. Shoulders and knees covered for both. The afternoon is yours. Overnight in Bangkok.
Day 3
An early car west, out past the last of the suburbs. First the railway market, where awnings and crates of fish sit on the live track and are pulled back by hand when the train sounds its horn. Then the floating market, reached on a paddled boat through narrow canals, and a longer run under the mangroves. Lunch is included. Back in the city by late afternoon. Overnight in Bangkok.
Day 4
A slow morning: breakfast, a last walk, a coffee somewhere with a fan going. Transfer to the airport for the flight south, about ninety minutes in the air. Phuket arrivals are warm and damp and smell of rain even when it is dry. Another car runs you across the island to the west coast, forty-five minutes to an hour depending on your beach. The evening is free, and the sea is a two-minute walk. Overnight on Phuket.
Day 5
Out to the Phi Phi islands by speedboat, joining a small group at the pier. The day takes in Maya Bay, held between sheer limestone walls, and Bamboo Island, flat and pale and shallow enough to wade a long way out. Snorkelling gear comes with the boat and lunch is provided. It is a fast hull and a bumpy ride if there is any swell. Overnight on Phuket.
Day 6
Nothing scheduled. Some people do not leave the sand. Others take a car up to the headland viewpoints in the late afternoon, or into the old town, where Sino-Portuguese shophouses in faded ochre and green have been turned into coffee bars and noodle shops. An hour of Thai massage costs less than the taxi there. Your guide can arrange a car and driver for the day if you want one. Overnight on Phuket.
Day 7
Breakfast, then the departure transfer, timed backwards from your flight with the island's traffic allowed for. If you fly late, most hotels will hold your bags and let you use a shower after check-out, and there is time for one more swim. Your guide sees you into the terminal. The trip ends at Phuket airport.
What the price covers
- Six nights of accommodation with breakfast each morning
- The domestic flight from Bangkok to Phuket, with standard baggage
- An English-speaking local guide in Bangkok and on Phuket
- Private air-conditioned car and driver for arrivals, departures and touring days
- Lunch on the market day and on the boat day
- Entrance fees at the sites named in the itinerary
- The shared speedboat excursion to the Phi Phi group, with snorkelling equipment
- Drinking water in the vehicle
Not included
- International flights to Bangkok and home from Phuket
- Travel insurance, which we ask every traveller to hold
- Any visa or entry fee that applies to your passport
- Dinners, drinks and meals not listed above
- Laundry, spa treatments and other personal spending
- Tips for guides and drivers
Good to know
Two of the seven days start early and the rest are gentle. Nobody needs to be fit for this route, only willing to walk on hot stone for a couple of hours and to sit in a boat. From roughly November to March the Andaman coast is dry and the sea is calm; from May to October it rains hard in bursts and the swell can shut the islands for a day.
- Temple dress is enforced, not suggested: shoulders and knees covered, no sheer fabric. A scarf in your bag solves most of it.
- Market day means leaving the hotel before six. Breakfast can usually be boxed if you ask the night before.
- The boat day is weather-dependent. If it is cancelled we move it or refund that portion.
- Carry small notes. Markets, tuk-tuks and street kitchens rarely take cards.
- Reef-safe sunscreen, a rash vest and a dry bag are worth the packing space.
- Domestic baggage rules are tighter than on long-haul tickets.
Plan this trip
- Days
- 7
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